KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The UMKC women’s basketball team (8-17, 4-6 WAC) will host Chicago State (1-24, 1-9 WAC) on Saturday for their lone Western Athletic Conference (WAC) contest of the week.

#TeamKC Notes

UMKC will look to get back to its winning ways after a tough road trip that included close losses to Seattle U and Utah Valley. The team currently sits in sixth place in the WAC with a 4-6 conference record. Three of the Roos’ last four games will be against the bottom-two teams in the WAC standings so a strong finish could make up some ground.

The two losses last week, by a combined seven points, marked the seventh and eighth games of the season that was decided by five points or less. The Roos have won their fair share of them thus far, holding a 4-4 record in the highly contested matchups.

Aries Washington(Kansas City, Mo.) returned to action from injury past week and put together a strong 24 point performance in the most recent game against Utah Valley. Washington, who ranks fourth in the WAC at 16.5 points per game, will look to continue to give the Roos a formidable offensive weapon down the stretch. The 24 point outing vaulted Washington onto the top-10 UMKC all-time scoring list, she sits in 10th place along with teammate Samantha Waldron(Omaha, Neb.) who ranks ninth.

Waldron, who has knocked down a conference-leading 33 three-pointers in WAC games, continues to provide a deadly long range threat for the Roos. Currently at 68 three’s made on the year, the senior guard needs just eight more for second-most in UMKC single season history and 20 more to top the list.

Kristen Moore(Chicago, Ill.) is currently one of five players in the conference to rank among the top-10 in both scoring and rebounding on the season. The redshirt junior is averaging 13.6 points per game on an impressive 49.3% field goal shooting, good for third in the WAC, to pair with a team-leading 6.4 rebounds per game.

The Roos’ strength continues to take form in shooting from beyond the arc and rebounding defense. In WAC games, the team ranks third in three-pointers made (67) and three-point field goal percentage (34.7%). Their 33 opponent rebounds per game trails only UT Rio Grande Valley in the conference.

Chicago State enters the matchup after picking up their first win of the 2018 season last week against Utah Valley. The Cougars have picked up their level of play on the offensive end in recent games, scoring 60+ in two consecutive contests despite only averaging 49.9 for the year.

Two players – Tyeshia Bowers and Phylicia Johnson – are averaging in double figures scoring on the season for Chicago State. Bowers, a freshman guard, leads the team at 12.4 points and 2.4 assists per game. Both statistics rank among the WAC leaders as well as she sits 12th in scoring average and ninth in assists.

The more experienced Johnson, a redshirt senior, has also been an integral part of the Cougars squad in 2017-18. Her 11.5 points per game sits 15th in the conference and her 2.2 assists per game check in at 11th.

On the defensive end, Chicago State has struggled to shut down opposing offenses but has been notably better in defending beyond the three-point line than inside it. The team ranks last in the conference in scoring defense (72.8 points per game) and field goal percentage defense (.457), but are only allowing opponents to convert on 33.5% of three-point attempts.

Up Next

UMKC will host a pair of WAC games at Swinney Recreation Center to finish off the the three-game home stand. The Roos will match up with UT Rio Grande Valley on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. CT before squaring off with New Mexico State on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m. CT for Senior Day. Both games will be broadcast on the WAC Digital Network free of charge and will also have Live Stats available.